Museum hosts special guests

Midwest Museum of Natural History in Sycamore will feature “Picture This!” June 20, a program by Brown’s Oakridge Zoo that offers guests the opportunity to have their picture taken with Bagheera the leopard cub, a 3-week-old lion cub, or a coati mundi.

There will be an educational program at 11 a.m. featuring exotic animals. Until 4 p.m., guests can have their picture taken with an animal for a fee.

The family-owned Brown’s Oakridge Zoo was established in 1990 with a single potbelly pig and a few whitetail deer. The number of species housed at the zoo has grown to include two Siberian tigers, several black bears, two lions, a kangaroo and many more exotic and domestic animals.

A total of 14 lion and tiger cubs, abandoned in captivity, have been reared at the zoo. Many of the animals have been raised in the Brown’s home, and have had a lot of human contact.

The zoo is dedicated to the preservation of animals, and the educational and therapeutic benefits they can bring to humans.

“Picture This!” is included in museum admission. Free parking for the museum is available in the city lot across the street, next to the theater. Visit www.mmnh.org for more information, or stop by the museum at 425 W. State St. in downtown Sycamore.